AFFORDABLE ART GUIDE BY MAV

ARCHIVES

Monday, March 19, 2007

bookbinding - week two

And back to books! Let me start with the gorgeous journals Emily at Orangebeautiful sent over. They specialize in custom binding, stationery and design services. And they just launched a blog, so click here to see what projects they're working on now.

Marieke of Treats and Treasures sent in these handmade notebooks that she designed and printed on her Print Gocco. She wrote:

"Here are some pictures of the cahiers I just send off as gifts to the female part of my wedding party. In the Netherlands it is tradition that your wedding party organizes quite a lot of the wedding. Although I did not want my best friends to work hardest on that special day, I though I'd make it a bit easier on the few tasks they do have."

I really love these books made by Kim O’Neill at GOOD STOCK. She specializes in creating heirloom books and family trees.

And now for some tips from readers!

Dianne Vallier had this good suggestion:

"I thought i'd let you know of one other bookbinding resource that i know about, for those people who might not live in a city where classes are offered. I've made several handmade books, and I taught myself from a book called "Handmade Books: A Step-by-Step Guide to Crafting Your Own Books" by Kathy Blake (it is available on amazon.com). It is a great beginner's guide that is pretty easy to follow. There are instructions on how to make your own bookcloth and paste, and it includes several different methods of bookbinding (I got a little creative with some of them and altered the instructions a bit to fit my needs). Overall, I think this is a wonderful resource for those who are interested in learning this craft."Anabella Wewer added:

"The North Bennet Street School, in the North End of Boston is one of the oldest trade school in the US. It is just two doors down from Old North Church, of Pul Revere fame, in Boston's Freedom Trail. They have some intensive classes, workshops as well as a Master Bookbinder program."

And Michelle Pinkston added this awesome resource:

"Perhaps not entirely "handmade" but i made a book from all of my friends' wedding pictures. (i also did it for my cousin's wedding...) I waited until they got their proofs back (they were all online) contacted the photographer (who graciously let me use all of the photos i wanted - it helped that the couple had purchased a copy of most of them) and then put them into a keepsake "album" using Blurb.com.

This site is great - i use it for my portfolios (i'm an architect) and for many big presentations at work. the page layouts are really basic and can be easily created in a weekend. now they have a "coffee table book" chronicling their wedding. this also works really well if you've got friends with cameras at the wedding - it could be completely candid....i like to group pictures based on different sides of the family, pictures of the couple, pictures of guests, etc. but this is a really creative way to give them a keepsake and it's relatively cheap. the quality of print you get is amazing - it's hardcover with a dust jacket - so it will keep forever! I noticed that they recently put up a section specifically geared towards wedding books - so they may have new, more appropriate templates! the site has a free, downloadable beta program that is really user-friendly...oh, and i don't work for this company, just love the results! it's a really personalized gift that the couple will remember for years!"

And finally, Jessica Lysons of Worker Bee Designs sent over these great photo flip-books that she creates for her custom clients. Jessica writes, "I had an idea of a way to possibly display the idea better in a non-video form, so I put together an image sequence showing the progression of the first kiss." If you want to see one in action, you can find her here.